Free The Gamer's Wife by Careese Mills

 
    Nathaniel Gaines stared
ahead at the enormous glowing screen, his lips parted. His eyes
were opened wide enough that you could see in them the reflection
of the animated violence of the game he was playing, Assassin’s
Code. The small room was lit only by the flickering lights from the
game and filled with its exaggerated explosions. 

    His wife Trisha was just
outside the room, which she referred to as Nathaniel’s “man-cave”,
sitting at the dining table, hearing the sound effects through the
door. Trisha was an extremely attractive twenty-four year old woman
with long luxurious straight brown hair with highlighted tips, and
almond eyes that spoke of a mixed ethnic heritage. She was biting
her voluptuous lip, staring down at her phone, reading the text for
the hundredth time.
    The text was from Ethan
Knight, Trisha’s former coworker. They used to work together as
loan officers at Heritage Bank, before he resigned to start his own
mortgage processing company. He made no secret of his attraction to
her. She had, however, repressed her attraction to him, until
today. He came to town on a business trip, for only a few days, and
gotten in touch with her. Two days earlier he asked if she was free
for lunch. She turned his invitation down, in fear of being seen in
town with him, and how she might feel being around him. But regret
gnawed at her ever since, and finally she texted him asking if they
could meet at his casino hotel, which was almost an hour away,
instead.
    He vowed to make it a
“memorable evening”. That was the text that Trisha’s narrow eyes
were transfixed by. She looked up at the
clock.
    It was time.
    Rising, her stomach full of
butterflies, she called to her husband, “Nate... I’m going
out.” 

    “ Mm.” was the only
response, and the explosions continued. 


    Trisha stepped out into the
warm winter night and took a quick look around. She surmised that
most of her neighbors were out enjoying the drastic change of
weather, because no one was outside. She was wearing her most
flattering, purple dress, with a heavy cream shawl, while her hair
flowed in the light February breeze. Even though the weather was
nice, it looked like a storm was brewing in the pink Louisiana sky.
She took a quick backwards glance towards the house, then stepped
into the limo and the driver sped off into the mysterious
night. 


    “ God, you haven’t changed
at all. You look as beautiful as I remember you.” said Ethan,
staring across the table at Trisha, a glass of white wine in his
hand. 

    Trisha’s face flushed and
she avoided his gaze. “Do you always talk this way to married
women?” she joked. 

    “ How is that going? Your
marriage. Be honest.” Ethan said reaching across the table to lay
his hand on hers.
    Trisha felt his charm, good
looks, and the wine, giving her a buzz. “Fine.” she said. 

    Ethan laughed. “You’re a
terrible liar.” he said. “How long have you been married? Two
years, right? You should be over the moon!” 

    “ It’s complicated. He works
extremely hard, but he plays hard too.”
    Ethan nodded, “He’s a
sheriff right? I’m sure that’s stressful,” he paused. “How does he
play hard? Do you mean he’s a gambler?”
    Trisha shook her head, “Oh
no, not that. He is a gamer. A video gamer. The games are tough to
compete with.” she said, looking down at the wedding ring on her
finger. 

    “ What could possibly
compete with you, Trisha?” Ethan said, flashing his perfect
grin. 

    Trisha cocked her head to
the side, “You’re full of flattery tonight aren’t you?” She smiled.
“At first his video game obsession was fun.” she continued. “We
used to love playing them together. I guess I sort of figured that
once we were man and wife, he would center his attention a little
more on me. But after dinner, I can tell that he really rather be
elsewhere, like in the basement with his online buddies. He goes in
there and pretty much closes